Palestinian Arab gunmen wounded five Israeli soldiers Thursday, as
Jerusalem prepared to set free jailed terrorists as part of the
continuing ceasefire charade that is garnering high praise in Western
capitals.

The first shooting attack took place in central Gaza, where two IDF
soldiers were lightly wounded when a heavily armed terrorist hurled
hand grenades and opened fire on their vehicle.

The soldiers returned fire, killing their assailant.

On Thursday night, terrorist gunmen attacked an army vehicle near the
Judean town of Hebron, wounding three Israelis. One victim was listed
in serious condition and was airlifted to Beersheva’s Soroka Medical
Center.

Earlier in the day, a 16-year-old Palestinian Arab was caught
attempting to smuggle a terrorist bomb belt and machinegun ammunition
through an army checkpoint outside of Shechem in Samaria.

Security sources reported some 50 intelligence warnings of
pending “Palestinian” attacks Thursday, and Jerusalem was placed on
high alert for several hours as troops searched for terrorist
infiltrators.

Paying off the terrorists

The ramped up Arab aggression against Israel’s Jews came as the
government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was setting plans to
release some 900 jailed “Palestinian” terrorists in a gesture of
goodwill towards the regime of PA leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Sharon has expressed satisfaction with Abbas’s efforts to convince
the terror groups to temporarily halt attacks against Israelis until
after the PLO chief has a chance to extract further concessions at
the negotiating table.

Media reports Thursday indicated the two leaders will jointly
announce an end to the “Oslo War” when they meet in Sharm el-Sheikh
next Tuesday at the invitation of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak.

But Abbas is said to be using the opportunity to turn the screws on
his “peace partners.”

Talks between Israeli and PA officials Thursday night over the
upcoming prisoner release broke down after the “Palestinian” side
demanded many more hundreds be set free than Israel was offering.

Abbas is also expected to insist on a full renewal of final status
peace negotiations, a step Israel has said it is not prepared to take
until the PA makes meaningful moves to eliminate anti-Jewish terror.

Preparing for war

Pointing to precedents, analysts predict the terror groups will use
Israel’s failure to comply with Abbas’s demands in full as
justification to drop any pretense of a ceasefire and wholly resume
their campaign of mass murder.

Last week, Abbas reportedly gave Hamas the green light to fully
return to the “path of armed resistance” the moment Israel’s
diplomatic offers became unsatisfactory.

From its inception last month, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom warned
that the Abbas-brokered truce was a “ticking bomb which would blow
up” in Israel’s face.

Shalom pointed out that the ceasefire allowed the terror groups to
remain fully armed and operational - a violation of the PA’s signed
agreements. (Copyright 2002-2005 Jerusalem Newswire. 02/03/05)